


Perchance

by justheretoreadhannibalfics



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Meeting, BFFs, Fluff, Hannibal is still the Chesapeake Ripper, Just Cute Stuff, Kids AU, M/M, Teenage AU, canon ignorant, many marriage proposals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:41:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27446551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justheretoreadhannibalfics/pseuds/justheretoreadhannibalfics
Summary: Will meets Hannibal in a park when they are kids, and Hannibal immediately proposes to him. It takes a long time for Will to give him a real answer.
Relationships: Will Graham & Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 28
Kudos: 262
Collections: Hannibal One Shots





	Perchance

Will scurried around, trying to keep up with the large mutt his dad had brought home a few weeks earlier. The park had become their mutual place of freedom, where Will and Mayor could run and wrestle without getting in the way or breaking anything. The big dog had also discouraged other children from trying to talk to Will. Even the bigger kids who would normally try to pick on him were afraid of Mayor, making the pair inseparable.

Will saw the other child wander over, and he wrinkled his nose in confusion. The other boy didn’t seem afraid of Mayor, even though he was only maybe three inches taller than Will. He didn’t look like a kid who played at parks. He was wearing some sort of school uniform, with a tie and everything.

“Hello,” the boy said, smiling at Will and Mayor in turn, “what’s your name?”

Will tipped his head, making his hair fall away from his face so he could look at the other boy better. 

“Will,” he replied, “your eyes are red.”

This was one of the reasons the bigger kids picked on Will. He said strange things, even though they were always true.

The other boy wasn’t upset, though. He smiled wider and nodded.

“I usually say they are brown,” he agreed, “My name’s Hannibal.”

Will frowned, looking down at the ground and thinking.

“Like the guy with the elephants?” he asked.

Hannibal laughed.

“Yes. Most other kids don’t know about him. You’re smart,” he said happily.

Will shrugged and plopped down on the grass next to where Mayor was rolling. He gestured for Hannibal to join him.

“Most kids say I’m weird,” he said, instead of trying to argue with Hannibal about him being smart, “and most of them are afraid of my dog.”

Hannibal nodded, sitting down carefully on the grass next to Will.

“He is very large,” Hannibal said, “and I guess other kids think he might be mean. I can tell he’s friendly, though. Just like you.”

Will scrunched his nose again and looked back at Hannibal. 

“You’re weird too,” he decided, “do the other kids make fun of you for it?”

Hannibal tipped his head.

“Yes. They are not very good at it. I’m good at hiding, too. Sometimes they can’t find me.”

Will laughed softly.

“Do you ever hide from your parents?” he asked curiously.

Hannibal shook his head.

“No. That would be rude. I hide from my little sister though, when we play. She likes to find me.”

Will smiled.

“I wish I had a little sister,” he said, “Pa says every kid should grow up with a brother or sister. He says it makes us better at making friends.”

Hannibal shrugged.

“Maybe. Mischa is very little, though. She can’t come to the park without an adult.”

Will nodded.

“My pa has to go to work all the time. I bring Mayor here so he doesn’t break anything while he plays. He’s clumsy.”

Hannibal smiled, and watched as Will ran his hand through Mayor’s soft fur.

“Will you marry me?” Hannibal said after a moment.

Will looked over at him and frowned. He brushed the hair out of his face to look at Hannibal better.

Hannibal didn’t look like he was joking. His red eyes were wide and sincere.

“I’m only eight,” Will said as an answer.

“And I am nine and a half,” Hannibal replied, “I didn’t mean now. When we are older. Will you marry me?”

Will blushed. No one had ever asked him something like that. Even the cruelest of jokes hadn’t ventured into that territory, and he knew this wasn’t a joke.

“Maybe,” he answered, “I’ll have to fall in love with you first.”

Hannibal nodded solemnly.

\---

“So, is the answer two point three four times ten to the negative twenty seventh, or did I miss a step?” Will asked, his textbook propped open on his knees, and his notes laying over one of the pages.

Hannibal hummed from behind him. Hannibal was on the bench in the park, and Will was sitting with his back propped up against it. There were a few dogs playing in the grass, and Will enjoyed watching them. Mayor had died two years ago, and he still missed the dog. His dad hadn’t brought another one home, and Will didn’t expect him to.

“The numbers are right, but remember to write what unit you are using,” he replied, “it is essential you not forget that. Even the most intelligent students have lost points on their tests when they have neglected their units.”

Will clicked his tongue and made sure to write ‘Joules’ after the answer. He remembered that he had nearly forgotten to convert millimeters to meters in the last test, and he didn’t want to make a fool of himself.

“Thanks,” Will said absently, moving on to the next question.

Hannibal dropped a hand into Will’s hair and began to comb his fingers through. Will froze, unsure of how to respond.

“Will you marry me?” Hannibal asked, reminding Will of the first time he had asked that. 

Will chuffed.

“We’re still a bit young for marriage, don’t you think?” he said, once again avoiding giving Hannibal a real answer.

“When we are older?” Hannibal pressed, just as he had that first day.

Will sighed.

“What makes you think I’ve fallen in love with you already?” he teased, leaning his head back so he could look Hannibal in the eyes, “I’ll give you the same answer I always do. Maybe.”

Hannibal sighed heavily and leaned down to press a kiss to Will’s forehead.

\---

“Will Graham,” Will said into the phone, pressing it to his ear with his shoulder as he drove back to campus.

“Marry me?” Hannibal said through the phone.

Will laughed, almost dropping the phone in surprise.

“Hannibal. Are you ever going to stop asking me that?” he asked, navigating toward his apartment.

“When you say yes,” Hannibal replied calmly, “there will be no need to ask after that.”

Will sighed, parking the car and shaking his head in amusement.

“I don’t really think either of us is in a position where we are ready to get married,” he said, still not answering the question he knew Hannibal wanted to ask, “We’re both trying to get through college. Relationships always make college more complicated than it needs to be.”

Hannibal hummed noncommittally on the other end.

“I have the sinking feeling a ‘maybe’ will assault my ears any moment,” he said, sounding a bit resigned to the idea.

Will laughed again and got out of his car to head towards his door.

“Wow. It’s like we’ve had this conversation before,” Will teased, “maybe even a hundred times, starting on the day we first met.”

The smile was obvious in Hannibal’s voice when he answered.

“What a smart boy I was. I knew, even then, what I wanted in life.”

Will rolled his eyes.

“The answer is maybe. Now, you should probably be studying or something. Becoming a doctor is no walk in the park.”

Hannibal sighed softly.

“Neither is joining the FBI,” he said, “but I digress. Our usual time on Saturday, then?” 

Will huffed a laugh.

“Yep. I’ll buy the coffee if you bring the food.”

“Of course.”

\---

Will flipped through the file for the hundredth time, hoping for some new bit of information to jump out at him. This killer had been trying very hard to get the FBI’s attention, but he couldn’t figure out why. 

A knock at the door to his classroom brought Will’s attention up. He saw Hannibal standing there, holding his usual containers that likely had some heavenly concoction of food in them.

“I have a twenty-four hour cancellation policy,” Hannibal teased, walking in when Will didn’t reply right away.

Will shook himself out of his daze and looked at his watch. He had missed their usual lunch by an hour.

“God, Hannibal. I didn’t even realize what time it was. I’m sorry.”

Hannibal smiled and set down a container in front of Will, being sure to pointedly put away the killer’s file. He had tried to tell Will it was not very good for him to be immersing himself into the minds of killers like that, but hadn’t tried to argue when Will insisted. Especially when Will pointed out that, being the Chesapeake Ripper, he was doing nothing to make Will’s job easier.

“No worries. I understand your job is taxing on you,” Hannibal said, flashing his teeth to let Will know he was going to bring the topic up again at a later date, “but there is something you can do to make it up to me.”

Will raised an eyebrow, feeling like he should know what was coming, but finding himself curious and ignorant of it.

“And what might that be?” he asked, taking a bite of whatever Hannibal had managed to make out of his latest victim.

“Marry me,” Hannibal stated, watching Will for his reaction.

Will laughed.

“You always have the oddest timing when you decide to ask that,” he said, “I hope you didn’t do anything rash with this last painting.”

Will had taken to referring to Hannibal’s kills as paintings while in public. It was a way they could talk about it without fear of anyone discovering what Hannibal was really doing.

Hannibal shook his head lightly.

“I never do anything rash,” he said.

Will laughed again.

“Right. Especially not that time you asked me to marry you when I was eight,” Will said.

Hannibal smiled.

“While that may have been sudden, I do not consider it rash,” he replied.

Will shrugged.

“Whatever. The answer is maybe. Not right now, at the very least. Alright?” 

Hannibal nodded, though his disappointment was clear in the way he looked down at his food and pressed his lips together.

\---

“Marry me?”

Hannibal stared down at Will, his expression blank.

Will had never seen Hannibal so stunned. He had always wondered what it would take to really surprise the man. Now, on one knee, offering the small box to the taller man, Will grinned. He had actually surprised Hannibal.

“Will.”

The single word, nearly whispered, sounded almost like a plea. Like a prayer.

Will stood and pressed the box into Hannibal’s hand, suddenly feeling nervous. He felt his face heating up with a blush, and he stared at Hannibal’s shoulder.

“I know you always wanted me to tell you that I love you,” Will started, feeling like he couldn’t stop the words from coming, “and I know that every time I didn’t, you thought that meant I didn’t love you. The first time, when I was eight, I didn’t. I didn’t even know what love was back then. And I told you I would have to fall in love with you before we could get married. I know you thought that meant you had to ask, waiting for me to answer in a way that let you know I had fallen in love with you finally. I know you have been trying to do whatever you can to make that happen. I know you have never once really believed that I love you, and that’s my fault. The last few times I’ve said maybe instead of yes, were because I knew I had to ask you. I had to ask you, because that’s the only way I can prove that I really do love you. I’ve loved you for a long time, and I know I’ve made everything difficult. I’m sorry. I love you.”

“Will you marry me?”

At the end of Will’s rant, he dared to look up at Hannibal through his lashes, worrying what he might see there.

Hannibal’s eyes were full of emotion, and almost tearing up. He was smiling softly, and pulled Will into a kiss.

“Of course I will,” Hannibal said softly, “I have waited my entire life for you.”

Will laughed.

“Me too.”


End file.
